Pneumatic Brad Nailer and Stapler

Owned by Michael Giannattasio
Last updated: Feb 01, 2021 by Andrew Molloy
6 min read

 Description

A pneumatic nail or staple gun is a type of tool used to drive nails or staples into wood or some other kind of material. It is driven by compressed air supplied by a large compressor in the SOA Woodshop area.

Here is an Image of our Pneumatic Brad Nailer.

Here is an Image of our Pneumatic Stapler.

Tool Specifications

As you can see in the tool specifications diagram, our Brad Nailer accepts fasteners from 5/8” to 2-1/8” nails, and our Stapler accepts fasteners from ½” to 1-1/2”. The SOA Woodshop supplies these fasteners for student use.

Components

Here is an image of the basic components of each Brad Nailer or Stapler in the SOA.

SAFETY

EYE PROTECTION which conforms to ANSI specifications and provides protection against flying particles both from the FRONT and SIDE should ALWAYS be worn by the operator and others in the work area when connecting to air supply, loading, operating or servicing this tool. Eye protection is required to guard against flying fasteners and debris, which could cause severe eye injury.

TO PREVENT ACCIDENTAL INJURIES

  • Never place a hand or any other part of the body in nail discharge area of tool while the air supply is connected. This includes holding two parts to be connected with one hand near the area of fastening.
  • Never point the tool at anyone else.
  • Never engage in horseplay.
  • Never pull the trigger unless nose is directed at the work.
  • Do not pull the trigger or depress the trip mechanism while loading the tool.
  • Do not use the tool as a hammer.
  • Always carry the tool by the handle. Never carry the tool by the air hose.

Always disconnect air supply

  1. Before making adjustments;
  2. When servicing the tool;
  3. When clearing a jam;
  4. When tool is not in use;
  5. When moving to a different work area, as accidental actuation may occur, possibly causing injury.

When loading tool

  1. Never place a hand or any part of body in fastener discharge area of tool;
  2. Never point tool at anyone;
  3. Do not pull the trigger or depress the trip as accidental actuation may occur, possibly causing injury.

During Operation

Always handle the tool with care:

  1. Never engage in horseplay;
  2. Never pull the trigger unless nose is directed toward the work;
  3. Keep others a safe distance from the tool while tool is in operation as accidental actuation may occur, possibly causing injury.
  • The operator must not hold the trigger pulled on contact arm tools except during fastening operation as serious injury could result if the trip accidentally contacted someone or something, causing the tool to cycle.
  • Keep hands and body away from the discharge area of the tool. A contact arm tool may bounce from the recoil of driving a fastener and an unwanted second fastener may be driven possibly causing injury.
  • Do not interfere with the proper operation of the contact arm mechanism.
  • Do not drive fasteners on top of other fasteners or with the tool at an overly steep angle as this may cause deflection of fasteners, which could cause injury.
  • Do not drive fasteners close to the edge of the work piece as the wood may split, allowing the fastener to be deflected possibly causing injury.

Loading the Stapler

  1. Depress magazine release button and pull back magazine.
  2. Open magazine fully and turn tool sideways with discharge area pointed away from yourself and      others. Load staples in channel.
  3. Push magazine forward until latch is engaged.

Loading the Brad Nailer

  1. Depress magazine release button and pull back magazine.
  2. Open magazine fully and turn tool sideways with discharge area pointed away from yourself and others.
  3. Load brads in channel.
  4. Push magazine forward until latch is engaged.

Trigger Lockout Control

The trigger lockout controls featured on the SOA’s BOSTITCH pneumatic tools provide a trigger lock for added safety control. Push the lockout control button in or out to activate or lock the tool trigger.

Trip Operation Mode

The Pneumatic Brad Nailer and Stapler in the SOA, feature a selectable trigger system that allows the user to choose between the following modes of operation: 1. Contact Trip Operation 2. Sequential Trip Operation.

CONTACT TRIP

The common operation procedure on Contact Trip mode is for the operator to contact the work surface to actuate the trip mechanism while keeping the trigger pulled, thus driving a fastener each time the work surface is contacted. This will allow rapid fastener placement on many jobs. All pneumatic tools are subject to recoil when driving fasteners. The tool may bounce, releasing the trip, and if unintentionally allowed to re-contact the work surface with the trigger still actuated (finger still holding the trigger pulled) an unwanted second fastener will be driven.

SEQUENTIAL TRIP

The Sequential Trip mode requires the operator to hold the tool against the work before pulling the trigger. This makes accurate fastener placement easier. The Sequential Trip allows exact fastener location without the possibility of driving a second fastener on recoil as described under “Contact Trip”. The Sequential Trip Tool has a positive advantage because it will not accidentally drive a fastener if the tool is contacted against the work surface - or anything else - while the operator is holding the trigger pulled.

Selecting the Trip Mode

To ensure safety, the user must lock the trigger (as described above) before changing the trigger system. To change the trip mode, rotate the mode switch in the counterclockwise direction. The mode switch will lock automatically when the indicating arrow is pointing down to the 3 nail icon stamped into the tool frame (Contact Trip Mode) or to a single nail icon stamped in the tool frame (Sequential Trip Mode). Unlock the trigger to resume tool operation.

Dial-A-Depth Fastener Adjustment

The DIAL-A-DEPTH Fastener control adjustment feature provides close control of the fastener drive depth: from flush with the work surface to shallow or deep countersink.

Use the DIAL-A-DEPTH™ fastener control adjustment to give the desired depth of drive.

Operation

The typical operation of the Pneumatic Brad Nailer or Stapler in the SOA is to build site model frames or other, similar structures, using plywood or standard lumber components. Since the placement of fasteners in these cases is often strategic, the most common mode of operation is the “Sequential Trip” method, to place single fasteners where needed. However, the “Contact Trip” method is used on occasion, when broad surfaces must be fastened in somewhat random fashion, to quickly secure two or more sheets of material together.

Sequential Trip Operation

In SEQUENTIAL TRIP MODE, the contact trip operates in conjunction with the trigger to drive a fastener, but allows precise placement of fasteners, one at a time.  To operate a sequential trip tool, first position the contact trip on the work surface WITHOUT PULLING THE TRIGGER. Depress the contact trip and then pull the trigger to drive a fastener. As long as the contact trip is contacting the work and is held depressed, the tool will drive a fastener each time the trigger is depressed. If the contact trip is allowed to leave the work surface, the sequence described above must be repeated to drive another fastener.

Contact Trip Operation

In CONTACT TRIP MODE, the contact trip operates in conjunction with the trigger to drive a fastener, but allows rapid fastener applications. To operate the tool in this manner, hold the tool with the contact trip pointing towards but not touching the work surface. Pull the trigger and then tap the contact trip against the work surface using a bouncing motion. Each depression of the contact trip will cause a fastener to be driven. The operator must not hold the trigger pulled on contact trip tools except during fastening operation, as serious injury could result if the trip accidentally contacted someone or something, causing the tool to cycle. Keep hands and body away from the discharge area of the tool. A contact trip tool may bounce from the recoil of driving a fastener and an unwanted second fastener may be driven, possibly causing injury.

Quick Disconnect

The Pneumatic Brad Nailer and Stapler in the SOA, utilize a quick disconnect feature, which allows easy connection to any air supply hose in the Woodshop. Simply pull back the air hose connector sleeve collar and press the coupling onto the tool firmly, then release the collar to lock the air hose to the tool. Ask a Shop Tech for assistance to be shown how to do this.

Clean-up

When you are finished working with a pneumatic tool, clean the area before leaving the workstation. There are 4 Trash barrels in this room, and each one has a broom, bench brush and dust pan attached. Also, there are scrap barrels at each workstation to deposit scraps of material, which may be useful for someone else. Please do not put materials with stray hardware or glue on them, or food/drink items, only re-usable materials.